Truesdale Lake  

South Salem, New York

December 16, 2013
by rob
Comments Off on Free Lake Management Book: Diet for a Small Lake

Free Lake Management Book: Diet for a Small Lake

diet-for-a-small-lake-coverThe classic lake management book ‘Diet for a Small Lake‘ has been made available as a free pdf download. Originally published in 1990 — this is the updated 2009 edition.

The physical book is published at cost – hardcover is $25 and paperback copies sell for $15 if you want something to hold on to (order form here). The publication is 318 pages and chock full of useful information for homeowners and other stakeholders in the lake area. This pdf version of it contains the whole book.

The book is an cooperative effort between the NYSFOLA and the NYS DEC.

From the description:

Diet for a Small Lake is a combined effort by the New York State Federation of Lake Associations (NYSFOLA) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). It is designed to motivate private citizens who may not have knowledge or experience in the field of lake and watershed management. Examples from within New York State are provided to illustrate the topics. References to state laws and government structure are specific to New York State, making this book a valuable reference for professionals in the field of water resources management. The information will build the knowledge and confidence required to delve deeper into lake management. Appendices F, G and H contain internet resources, references cited, and additional readings for those who seek more information.

We advise new and old lake watershed homeowners to grab the download and dive in!

December 13, 2013
by rob
Comments Off on Redistricting Truesdale Petition

Redistricting Truesdale Petition

Proposed redistricting plan splits Lake Truesdale down the middle.

Proposed redistricting plan splits Lake Truesdale down the middle.

Dear Lake Truesdale Community Members,

I am a member of your lake community, I live among the Vreeland Properties on Hoyt Street. I have lived here for 9 years. I am very concerned with the redistricting of Lake Truesdale should LES close in 2014. Currently, The Board of Education’s plan divides Lake Truesdale’s families between two elementary schools (Meadow Pond and Increase Miller), should LES close for the 2014-15 school year. If you click on the petition, I have attached a map illustrating the division which is cut directly through the lake.

I learned this after attending the last Board of Education meeting last week. This was very disturbing to me, and so I created this petition that I have been walking around the neighborhood with. Some of you might have signed already- if so, thank you!

I am saddened that our beloved community would be cut in half – I believe this will have negative impact long term on our community as a whole. Regardless of your opinion on school closing, it would be best for all of us to keep our lake community together through this if at all possible. This is what I am trying to communicate to the Board of Education and I need your help.

If you agree with me, that Lake Truesdale should be kept together should LES be closed in 2014, please sign the petition. 120 community members from around the lake have signed already. We need to make our voices heard. The final meeting is on December 19, one week from now when the board will vote on the plan.

The petition states:

We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens who urge our Board of Education to act now to revise the redistricting of Lake Truesdale if LES is closed. Please keep our lake community neighborhood intact and keep the children at the same Elementary School.

CLICK HERE:
http://chn.ge/1jrBh16

Thank you for your time- if any of you would like to talk to me further about this please email or call me at any time. You can also email the board at governance_team@klschools.org if you would like to address this with the board directly.

Brooke Andrews
brookegoldthread@gmail.com
914-602-3000

December 11, 2013
by rob
Comments Off on Beautiful Truesdale Lake Photos

Beautiful Truesdale Lake Photos

This album was put together over the last 10 years by lake resident Jonathan Rodgers. All photos were taken from his property on the lake. A small sample of photos is shown below. Click the image to see the full album on Flickr. Thanks Jonathan for sharing!

jr-album-clip

October 25, 2013
by rob
Comments Off on Lake Level Being Lowered for Winter

Lake Level Being Lowered for Winter

cropped-DSC_8098.jpgHi all. It is time to begin preparing for winter. Ken will begin the process of lowering the lake and plans to pull the summer board by next weekend (November 2-3.) Please pull boats, docks, etc., to prepare for the lower water level. Thanks.

October 17, 2013
by rob
Comments Off on THIS WEEKEND Boats must be unlocked and moved away from launch area at Gilbert Street boat launch

THIS WEEKEND Boats must be unlocked and moved away from launch area at Gilbert Street boat launch

From TLPOA:

OWNERS OF BOATS AT THE GILBERT STREET BOAT LAUNCH MUST UNLOCK AND MOVE BOATS FROM THE LAUNCH AREA THIS WEEKEND.

If you have been around the lake in the past few weeks you will have noted that there is some activity happening at the Gilbert Street boat launch at the corner of Gilbert, Indian and Bouton. This is because the Fire Department has selected this location for a dry fire hydrant which allows fire trucks to access water from the lake during an emergency.

On Monday, Oct, 21 the construction starts in earnest and boats that are on the shore must be removed or risk being damaged. Boats may be moved to the boat rack area or to the owner’s property. Any boats that are left will be moved and if locked, the lock will be cut off and the boat moved.

Please unlock and move boats that are on shoreline at the Gilbert Street launch by 1:00 on Sunday.

Thank you.

PS: Reminder – all boats, including those kept on private property, need to have a registration sticker.

October 9, 2013
by admin
Comments Off on Lake End of Summer and Early Fall Algae

Lake End of Summer and Early Fall Algae

There is a good amount of detail and updates on the Nextdoor Truesdale neighborhood site about the unusual and persistent algae bloom we’ve experienced over the last month. Rather than duplicate the posts and discussions here I encourage you to visit that site (sign up if you haven’t already) to see the posts and discussion. Note that the Nextdoor Truesdale site is a private website and only open to those in the Truesdale Lake neighborhood.

August 1, 2013
by rob
Comments Off on Quick Update on Lake

Quick Update on Lake

Secchi disk examples

Secchi disk examples

Good afternoon to you all. Ray Morse has been taking secchi readings of the lake (basically a test to tell you how clear, or not clear, the water is) for a long time. On Monday – before any lake treatment, the clarity level was about 1 foot. Here is what he just told us: “The Secchi Reading this morning (July 31) was 3 ft 7 in which is 1 foot more than yesterday (Tuesday). The other good news is that the lake looks as good as I have seen all summer. No green showing by my dock and I can see bottom near my wall and don’t see any weed growth. Something is working right.”

I thought that you all would be pleased to hear this. It sounds as if the treatment on Monday is helping, along with the change in the weather the past few days.

Enjoy!

David

July 30, 2013
by rob
Comments Off on Truesdale Lake, Blue Green Algae and What to Expect

Truesdale Lake, Blue Green Algae and What to Expect

July 30, 2013

Truesdale Lake, Blue Green Algae and What to Expect

Greetings on this absolutely beautiful late July afternoon. It is simply amazing outside today – with wonderful temperature, and humidity and neat summer sounds. That is the good news.

But, our beloved lake is having its challenges. The extended heat wave has clearly harmed our lake – and we are still trying to figure out how. We have more blue-green algae than many of us remember and last week the lake had a low oxygen level so they could NOT treat it. Yesterday, we had air bubbles rising from the bottom of the lake, so they were only able to treat it with half of the usual amount of copper sulfate. We have spoken with Allied Biological many many times during the past few weeks – they are as puzzled as we are about what is going on. We have to abide by New York State rules about when and how to treat the lake, even though these are unusual circumstances. So, that means that even though they were only able to put in one-half of the usual amount of copper sulfate, we must still wait two more weeks (!) before we can treat again.

Here is what we were told when we asked about blue-green algae (which, by the way, is NOT a problem – but the toxic form is…)

One cannot tell by just the number of blue-green algae in the water if they are producing toxins or will produce them. Many factors affect a blue-green algae’s ability to produce toxins and apparently, those factors are poorly understood.

So NYSDEC has moved to a visual assessment of blue green blooms and the possible presence of toxins. See this website: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/77118.html

While the algae analysis Allied performs does not tell you if the toxins are present or if the blue-green algae have the potential for creating toxins, it does confirm the presence or absence of blue-greens and therefore if you see the scum you can be sure what is causing it.

All of us are frustrated about this. Allied Biological manages many lakes in Westchester County as well as other parts of New York and New Jersey. They are puzzled by what they see going on. New York State rules are the ones that we have to adhere to, even when unusual things happen.

So, my best advice is:

  1. Be patient
  2. Use your own good judgment. If the lake looks ok, then feel free to swim in it. If the lake looks yucky, then avoid those locations.
  3. Be patient. The weather will change, we will have some rain, and things will improve.
  4. Be patient.
David Sachs
Email: dsachs47@yahoo.com
Phone: (914) 763-8165

July 26, 2013
by rob
Comments Off on Beaches Are Open!

Beaches Are Open!

tea_beach_prepped_for_clambake

The last few days has seen a marked improvement in the water clarity and quality. Most likely this is due to the heat wave lifting and recent cooling rain. Enjoy the lake this weekend!

July 25, 2013
by rob
Comments Off on Hydrilla Hunt Webinar July 26th

Hydrilla Hunt Webinar July 26th

Join the Hydrilla Hunt!

On July 26 The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the New York Federation of Lake Associations (NYSFOLA) will present a webinar to instruct volunteers on the skills needed to identify Hydrilla verticillata (Hydrilla).  Hydrilla is an aquatic invasive species that has been found in New York state waters in in a limited number of locations during the last three years. In 2011, approximately 80 acres was found at the Cayuga Inlet in Ithaca, and in 2012 200 acres was found in the Tonawanda Creek near Buffalo. The monoecious variety of Hydrilla that has been found in New York State is well adapted to the temperate lake conditions in NYS since large areas of Hydrilla were able to grow rapidly without detection. Hydrilla is identified as an invasive plant by both federal and state governments across the United States.

Hydrilla over winter as turions but is most spread by fragmentation similar to Eurasian watermilfoil. Spreading by plant fragments allows that plant to easily invade large areas of connected waterbodies. It also is spread by boats and trailers that move between lakes and rivers.

Early detection is necessary to gain control of the plant once it is in a lake or stream. Working together, New York State, Tompkins County, and City of Ithaca have been successful in controlling Hydrilla in the Cayuga inlet, but it required a large effort to implement a series of complex herbicide applications.

TNC is working on a Great Lakes project to survey boat launches in the Lake Ontario and Lake Eire drainage. The volunteer effort to Hunt for Hydrilla will augment that project, and with the support of the NYSFOLA many inland lakes will also be examined. Our goal is to examine as many lakes and large rivers across the state as possible. Because of their connectivity, special focus will be given to the Mohawk River and the NYS barge canal system.

Early detection is necessary to assess the threat and develop rapid response plans to address any newly discovered Hydrilla infestation. Volunteers can maximize the number of water bodies examined. The end of July is a good time to search for Hydrilla since it will be fully developed and will be at surface of water bodies. The following weeks will be adequate time to verify any possible locations of Hydrilla discovered by volunteers on the hunt.

A webinar will kick off the Hydrilla Hunt on July 26, at 2 pm. Participants can join the webinar at https://nethope.webex.com/mw0307l/mywebex/default.do?service=7&main_url=%2Ftc0506l%2Ftrainingcenter%2Fdefault.do%3Fsiteurl%3Dnethope%26main_url%3D%252Ftc0506l%252Fe.do%253FAT%253DMI%2526%2526Host%253D606c0b1d785d4040%2526UID%253D1290906702%2526HMAC%253De30bf2d3330c5d304b412ff151bd1bd1e07c009a%2526siteurl%253Dnethope%2526confID%253D1228187951%2526ticket%253D1849811b6cb21ccf9b07209bde18a431&siteurl=nethope Sign in with your name and email.

The password is Hydri11a (using the number 1 not the letter l).

The webinar will instruct participants where to look for Hydrilla, sampling techniques to gather suspect plants and how to report search areas and findings. Volunteers will be asked to search for Hydrilla the over the  eekend and during  following week. Report possible Hydrilla sightings as well as locations that were searched but where no Hydrilla was found to help us understand the type of lakes that are conducive to Hydrilla.

The steps in the Hydrilla Hunt are:

  1. July 26 to August 3: Search your lake river or water body for Hydrilla and keep track of the areas that were searched
  2. Report your results at the iMap site or by email to Scott Kishbaugh at sakishba@gw.dec.state.ny.us    It is important to report all locations searched in order to better understand how Hydrilla is being transported around NYS or how fast it is moving in NYS
  3. If you find a suspected Hydrilla plant report the information and collect the suspected plant for verification. You can post a photo on iMap or send it to Scott Kishbaugh at sakishba@gw.dec.state.ny.us
  4. Be available to answer questions on your search for follow-up for plant verification  or verify where searches have been completed
  5. Get your friends and neighbors involved. Additional volunteers can participate by reviewing the webinar and TNC web site to see the instructions to complete a Hydrilla Hunt, and results can continue to be posted after August 3.

For more information on Hydrilla see http://ccetompkins.org/environment/invasive-species/hydrillahttp://ccetompkins.org/environment/invasive-species/hydrilla and http://www.nyis.info/index.php?action=invasive_detail&id=16

For more information on the webinar, contact Dean Long dlong@thelagroup.com

Nancy J. Mueller, Manager
NYS Federation of Lake Associations, Inc.
P.O. Box 84
LaFayette, NY 13084
(800)796-3652
fola@nysfola.org